MigL

There is a small percentage of people born without a brain, Anencephaly. The argument being currently presented is that if you are born that way,it is not a 'defect'. Obviously then, there are humans without brains. Lobsters don't have brains either. So 'lobster' is a type of human, just a variation on the brain volume spectrum. Maybe J Peterson was right to compare humans to lobsters. PS I have many friends here. I'll be back when we start respecting each other's opinions, and actually listening to each other without the accusations. So long.

We seem to have established that thereare states between male and female, such as 'mostly male' or 'mostly female'. And you guys want to give each of those many variations a new gender name ? Let's hear some of them; I need a good laugh. And we're not talking about what technology will bring in the future, or has enabled us to do. Who cares if you can surgically attach a human uterus to a pig ? And what gender will it be ? Europe was once a month away, by boat, from North America. It is now 8 hours away ( used to be 4 by Concorde ). That doesn'y change geography; it is still a different continent. No one has ever claimed that gender changes on reaching menopause, or on becoming infertile. Just like no one would ever claim humans are not bipedal if they need a cane to walk in old age. Both male and female lose certain abilities as they age; things that they once could do. Is having an opposing viewpoint to yours, what you consider 'trollish' ?

A photon is neither, but can display either behaviour when you 'look' for it. A clownfish is not probabilistic; there is no Heisenberg Fishing Principle. It is either male, female, or varying degrees of in-between.

Finally a good question ... +1 An observer sees a 'foliation' of the 4 dimensional block. The observer's FoR determines the orientation of the foliation with respect to the spatial/temporal dimensions. This orientation will have varying lengths, and durations, for differing observers. And all foliations are equally valid.

Nope. I stopped taking wood shop in grade 9.

Indeed. I was lucky to have some excellent Math and Physics teachers in high school, who developed and supported my interest in those sciences. Which still interest me to this day. Maybe if I had studied some Sociology with a good teacher, I wouldn't be so argumentative and confrontational in online forums.

That is the mechanism by which this fish changes gender state, Stringy. And researchers can tell when it changes from a male state, to a female state. Presumably, they must have at least, one criterion for differentiating the male state from the female state. And you are using this as an argument that there are no criteria to differentiate between male state and female state ??? I can agree with your above post CharonY. There are two genders with varyng degrees of commmon characteristics. Or didn't you mean to say that ?

Single crystals grow best along a gradient. Temperature, pressure, what have you.

Oh, you're gonna be in so much trouble, if you wife reads what you post about Religion, Beecee 😄 😄 .

I think he means worldlines when he says 'strings', Beecee. And apparently he still hasn't done any research into the block universe model, Studiot.

Fine. Let's discuss clownfish ( or even lobsters if you like ). How do researchers know at what stage they are male ? And when they become female ? IOW, what is the criteria they use for classifying them as different genders in those differing stages. Shurely they must use a criterion that allows them to differentiate between the female state and the male state. If so, then there must be at least one, or some criteria that allows for differentiation of gender in all species. You insist that there is no difference, so you shouldn't be able to tell them apart, yet you can easily tell when a clownfish goes from male to female ? Are you saying "There is no difference between these two rubber balls; the red one is exactly the same as the blue one." ??? You're gonna have to put a little more effort into that explanation. BTW grade 11 level Biology, for me 😁 .

Exactly. Anywhere between xero and near infinite, depending of course, on the criterion, or criteria, being used. If gender/sex is just a personal subjective opinion, there are over 7 billion of them. Opinions, that is.

Darn it, Stringy, always my kryptonite ... Very well, I'll change that to When your wife is told by her doctor to get screened for testicular cancer.

You know that there is no such thing as 'frictionless', don't you ? The laws of Thermodynamics can be likened to a card game ... 1 - You can't win ( can'tcreate energy in a closed system ). 2 - You can't break even ( no such thing as frictionless ). 3 - You can't get out of the game ( entropy )

I would remind them that I resemble a typical male, although I've been called a 'she' when I dressed as a woman for Halloween ( one guy even bought me a drink ). If they chose to be rude, and not heed my suggestion, there's no law against that ( yet , apparently ); and rude people seem to be proliferating ( at least in the US ). I cannot change , or force, their perception of reality. And when your doctor tells you to go for a mammogram, because you are a spectrum of genders, I'll believe that SOME differences, or criterea, are not binary. And if you should require an explanation, I will take the time to explain your biases to you, so you're more aware of them 🙂 .

I know what you mean ... Science always talks about circles and spheres, when we know no such thing as a perfect circle or perfect sphere exists in nature. They are a 'spectrum' of shapes. Seriously, biological classifications are just that, an easy way to group organisms into groups according to certain specific criterea. And, yes, some of those criterea are binary. Does it matter tome what you choose to identify as? Not at all. I only get my back up when I'm told what I have to perceive you as. That is not my subjective reality; don't force yours on me. Do you identify any other organisms as anything other than your subjective perception of them ? Or do you ask your cat if she wants to be referred to as 'dog' ? Yeah, read the story. I was trying to be funny, and failed miserably.

I always knew you were infected, Dim 😄

Sounds like a threesome ( menage a trois ) to me. So, we are discussing recreational sex ?

I would explain, but you left without saying goodbye ...

Depends on what you mean by sex. Do you mean what gender you identify as ? Recreational ? Or procreational ? This is a Science site, and we classify sex only as it pertains to reproduction of the species. Self identity and recreational, we leave to the psychologists and sociologists. In terms of reproduction, there is a hard line between the two sexes/genders; one gives birth to young, the other doesn't. As they get older women might lose that ability, but sometimes we lose other abilities also. Are humans not classified as bipedal when they use a cane or sit in a wheelchair ? Are humans sighted, or on a 'spectrum', because some lose their eyesight as they get old ? It is black and white; that doesn't mean there aren't species that reproduce asexually, but of those that can even change sex, ( as Sensei mentions ) only give birth as female. Which 'sex' do you want to discuss ?

It is Minkowsky space-time, that already incorporates time ( and the associated dynamics ). That is the reason for calling them 'events'; The place, and the time, are specified. If you are having problems understanding Relativity, ask questions, instead.

The field is always there. Changes to the field propagate at c . It has little to do with the propagation of the particles, which are, themselves, over-threshold excitations of that field.

I doubt it. A civil 'wrongful death' suit would fail because of the reason you state. It was accepted as self defense, which is not wrongful death. Civil cases have a much lower burden of proof, but other factors, unmentionable in criminal court, can be presented, like the felony history of the 'victims'. And arguing that Ritterhouse went out of his way to insert himself into the situation is a non-starter, as two of the victims' came from further away than he did. There are plenty of court judgements that I don't like, as this kid is destined for many more stupid things, however, according to current law, this was the correct judgement.

How do you sort out the idiots from reasonable thinking people. Simple, the idiots are carrying guns. ( and I 'm guilty of electing Trudeau, not Trump ) I prefer Canuck of Italian descent.

You deserve it ... +1.